Grossman LLP | Gift From Christies Leader and Exhibition By Ai Weiwei Mark Latest Chapters in the Story of the Chinese Zodiac Head Sculptures
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  • Gift From Christies Leader and Exhibition By Ai Weiwei Mark Latest Chapters in the Story of the Chinese Zodiac Head Sculptures
    07/18/2013
    The long saga of an iconic set of bronze Chinese sculptures continues.  In the 1700s, European Jesuits employed by the imperial court during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) designed a dozen sculptures—giant bronze animal heads representing the twelve figures of the Chinese zodiac. The sculptures were originally part of a clock-fountain, with the heads spouting water to mark the hours.  The fountain was located in the celebrated gardens of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing until, in 1860, the palace was beset by French and British troops during the Second Opium War.  The zodiac heads became the spoils of war, looted and spirited away.

    Today, only seven of the original twelve figures have been located, and the zodiac heads have become a rallying banner in a growing movement in China to repatriate cultural artifacts.  Five of the seven known sculptures have already been returned to museums in Beijing (two thanks to donations by Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho).  This summer, two more made the journey back to China.  The two sculptures—a rat head and a rabbit head—had surfaced in 2009 when Christie’s auctioned off works from the formidable art collection of late French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.  At that time, China had unsuccessfully sought to halt the auction, and a Chinese collector had placed the initial winning bid for the two heads and then refused to pay, as a matter of patriotic principle.  The rat and rabbit sculptures then landed in the hands of French business tycoon François-Henri Pinault (whose holding companies own Christie’s auction house as well as other luxury brands including Gucci and Boucheron).

    This past April, Mr. Pinault accompanied the president of France on a visit to China.  While there, Mr. Pinault offered to return the two zodiac heads to Beijing.  The transfer became official at a ceremony held in June at the National Museum of China in Tiananmen Square, where the works will be displayed.  The ceremony featured appearances by Mr. Pinault, representatives of the Chinese and French governments, and the chief executive of Christie’s International.

    Mr. Pinault has considerable business interests in China, and Christie’s announced this spring that it will become the first international auction house to operate independently on the Chinese mainland, which has a booming art market.  Mr. Pinault and Christie’s have both emphasized a desire to preserve the art and cultural heritage of China.

    Meanwhile, contemporary Chinese artist and agitator Ai Weiwei’s reinterpretation of the zodiac heads continues to tour the globe.  Ai Weiwei’s work (titled “Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads”) is an homage to the original fountain in the Old Summer Palace, with each of the animals—Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig—cast in a solid piece of bronze about ten feet high, far larger than the originals.  The artist’s website says that the work is meant to draw attention to “questions of looting and repatriation” and to explore the concepts of “fakes” and “copies” in art.  The exhibition has been touring major cities all over the world since 2010, even as the provocative artist’s international profile has increased as a result of his criticism of the Chinese government.  In 2011, he was arrested for tax evasion and imprisoned for nearly three months by Chinese authorities; he asserts that the charges were in retaliation for his political activism.  Since his release, he has continued to criticize the Chinese regime through his art, including a recent exhibition at the Venice Biennale about his incarceration.  The Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads installation will be on display in Toronto this summer and fall.

    Thus, the zodiac heads have become intertwined with many larger stories, including the international demand for Chinese antiquities; the growing art market within China; modern-day China’s fraught relationship with art and artists; and the nationalistic movement in China (and other countries) to repatriate lost works.  For now, the whereabouts of the other five original heads remain a mystery.
    ATTORNEY: Kate Lucas
    CATEGORIES: Art ExhibitionsFine Art